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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551491">The Moment</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mari_Writes/pseuds/Mari_Writes'>Mari_Writes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Slowly but Surely [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akaashi has strict parents, Bisexual Bokuto Koutarou, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Confessions, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Gay Akaashi Keiji, Getting Together, Humor, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Making Out, POV Bokuto Koutarou, Plans For The Future</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:14:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,879</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551491</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mari_Writes/pseuds/Mari_Writes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two days before moving away to start training as a professional volleyball player, Bokuto visits Akaashi at his family’s house for one last hangout. They reminisce about their time together. Akaashi tells Bokuto a secret. Bokuto takes a leap of faith.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Slowly but Surely [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720297</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>344</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Moment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi again, everyone! Here is the fourth part of my "Slowly But Surely" series. I hope you all enjoy.</p><p>And yes, this is a rewrite. The fic I wrote and posted in October has been deleted. Long story short, I wrote something I wasn't proud of and wanted a redo. This fic is much more in line with the rest of the series: short, simple and soft. I'm quite proud of this little story.</p><p>If you like it, please help me out with a comment, or share on <a href="https://twitter.com/mari_writes1/status/1328525098479849472">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://mari-writes.tumblr.com/post/634997091596369920/the-moment-rewrite">Tumblr</a>. It'd really help me out. Thanks! :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bokuto gripped the bag in his hand tightly and looked up at the large house on the hill. It was a bland brown color with black trim, manicured landscaping and a stone walkway leading up to a fancy columned porch.Absent were the prayer flags, wind chimes and family of stone owls that littered the entry to the Bokuto household. Call him tasteless, but he thought the Akaashi family home was pretty boring.</p><p>Still, it was intimidating—just like its owners. Akaashi’s parents were architects. They were incredibly successful and sought-after, flying all over the world for their work. They’d even been featured in magazines and on TV.</p><p>“Perfectionists,” their son had once described to Bokuto. They expected the best out of everything and everyone around them.</p><p>So yeah. Intimidating. Bokuto gulped, making it the rest of the way to the front door. Ignoring the bronze door knocker, he pounded his fist on the wood.</p><p>“Akaashi, I’m here!” He bellowed, hoping that his borderline rudeness would signal for the boy’s parents to back off. He wanted to enjoy himself tonight.</p><p>It would be his and Akaashi’s final hangout before Bokuto moved away to start a professional volleyball training program. Akaashi would be moving back to the Fukurodani dorms, to start his third and final year at the school and take his rightful place as the new team captain.</p><p>He wouldn’t be that far away, but they wouldn’t see each other regularly. Maybe once every other weekend. Bokuto felt like he was running out of time. It had taken so long for him to figure out how he felt about Akaashi. He didn’t want to move away without telling his friend his true feelings.</p><p>Bokuto heard footsteps approaching, then the click of a lock. He held his breath as the door swung open.</p><p>It was Akaashi. Akaashi <em>Keiji</em>—his best friend in the entire world, looking a bit disheveled, as if he had just rolled out of bed. Bokuto breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>“Bokuto-san, you’re early.”</p><p>Grinning, Bokuto held up the bag he was holding. “Well, I didn’t want our food to get cold!”</p><p>Akaashi stepped aside and took the bag so that Bokuto could shuffle in and kick off his shoes. He noticed that Akaashi’s blue rain boots were the only other recently-used shoes in the genkan.He hoped that meant they were alone tonight.</p><p>As he followed his friend into the house, he also noticed Akaashi’s attire: a loose-fitting, rainbow-colored shirt and shorts. <em>Dangerously</em> short shorts. Bokuto did his best not to stare at the young man’s long, sculpted legs.</p><p>He was still getting used to the fact that he was into Akaashi. And not just physically—he had a <em>major</em> <em>crush</em>. Things had been making more sense ever since he'd accepted his bisexuality, but realizing he also had <em>feelings</em> for his best friend was a different story entirely.</p><p>“I really hope there’s some onigri in this bag, Bokuto-san.”</p><p>Bokuto tore his eyes away from the back of Akaashi's calves as they made their way into the kitchen—a beautiful yet sterile room with vaulted ceilings and granite countertops. “Of course,” he said, hopping onto a stool. “Though, um, there’s more than just that!”</p><p>Akaashi hummed. He was on the other side of the island, digging around in a drawer, probably looking for chopsticks. “Where’d you order from? The market by your house?”</p><p>Bokuto shuffled nervously. “Ah. No.” He pulled open the bag and began unloading its contents. “I actually made us something this time.”</p><p>Carefully he placed the bento boxes side by side on the counter, removing the lids and scooting one over to where he guessed Akaashi would sit. Bokuto dug around in the bag for the two Ramune sodas he’d bought, trying to quash his nerves.</p><p>The bentos had been a joint effort by Bokuto and his mother. Each had a serving of cooked vegetables, a slice of breaded pork, tamagoyaki and two small onigri—each decorated with black sesame seeds in the shape of an owl.</p><p>Bokuto had explained to his mother how he wanted the food to reflect his feelings for the other boy: His gratitude, his admiration, his <em>everything…</em></p><p>“Are the owls… supposed to be us, Bokuto-san?”</p><p>He looked up to see Akaashi staring at his box, his eyebrows raised with a wisp of a smile tugging at his mouth. Bokuto couldn’t help but stare at the boy’s profile, his cute upturned nose, the dust of red on his cheekbones.</p><p>“Y-yes,” he stutters. “Do you like them?”</p><p>The smile grew. “Yeah.” He turned to Bokuto, a fond look on his face. “They’re very cute. Thank you.”</p><p>Bokuto grinned. For a moment they just stared at each other. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, though Bokuto did start to feel nervous. Did Akaashi actually like it, or was he just trying to make Bokuto feel better? It <em>was</em> kind of silly…</p><p>“Bokuto-san?”</p><p>Bokuto blinked. He realized he’d been spacing off a bit, his gaze landing on the front of his friend’s shirt. He decided to roll with it, lest Akaashi think him a weirdo.</p><p>“I like your shirt,” he said, indicating the rainbow pattern. They were in the exact sequence of the gay pride flag. He knew that wasn’t lost on Akaashi.</p><p>Akaashi huffed out a small laugh. “Thanks. Kenma got it for me,” he glanced down, pulling at the hem. “It pisses off my parents, so I always wear it whenever I’m here.”</p><p>Bokuto chuckled. Of course Akaashi would do something like that. He was uncompromising when it came to being himself. “So, your parent’s aren’t… I mean, are they here, or…”</p><p>“They left this morning for Seoul.” Akaashi picked up his chopsticks and started picking lazily at his tamagoyaki. “They’ll be back tomorrow night.”</p><p>Bokuto couldn’t help but feel relief at the information, as well as a strange thrill that shot up his spine at the thought of them having the house to themselves. “Oh, okay.”</p><p>They dug into their bentos, chatting about a few inconsequential things, like Bokuto’s oldest sister visiting New Zealand and the latest professional volleyball news. At one point, Bokuto remembered the Ramune bottles. With a flourish he opened Akaashi’s, releasing the marble and letting it fizz to the top. He placed it in front of his friend and bowed.</p><p>“You’re such a child,” Akaashi said, but he was grinning.</p><p>Bokuto scoffed. “Says the guy who sleeps with an owl plushie at night.”</p><p>“So do you!”</p><p>“Exactly.”</p><p>They broke out into full-blown laughter. Bokuto waited for the snort that his friend would inevitably (and involuntarily) release. He was not disappointed.</p><p>Eventually they moved to the living room, where a giant flatscreen TV was begging to be used. Movie nights had become a regular thing for them. Nearly every weekend they would meet at one of their dorm rooms, arms laden with snacks, and argue briefly before settling on a film for the night.</p><p>They also usually ended up pressed close together on one of their small beds—something Bokuto was beginning to enjoy more and more. With the amount of space on the many couches and chairs in Akaashi’s large living room, Bokuto was surprised that his friend chose to sit with him on the same plush, plum-colored loveseat.</p><p>“I think it’s my turn to choose,” Akaashi said as he pulled his legs up onto the couch. He picked up the remote and began scrolling. Bokuto watched, entranced at his friend’s sharp features, backlit by the glow from the kitchen. He’d never get used to how beautiful Akaashi was.</p><p>His eyes roamed down to the young man’s slender neck and broad shoulders. Akaashi’s shirt was riding up slightly, allowing a sliver of skin to peek through on one side. His limbs were draped across the loveseat, completely on display.</p><p>
  <em>So… much… leg…</em>
</p><p>“Bokuto-san, are you okay?”</p><p>Again, Bokuto blinked and looked up to see Akaashi studying him curiously. Embarrassment flooded through him. He’d just been caught <em>again</em>, and this time he’d been <em>checking Akaashi out</em>. Did he realize? Was he angry?</p><p>“Uh, yeah, of course!” He smiled weakly.</p><p>Akaashi frowned. He put the remote down on the armrest, turning to Bokuto and leveling him with a serious look. “You know you can tell me anything.”</p><p>Bokuto hesitated. What could he say, <em>I think you’re sexy</em>? No, that was way too forward, and didn’t even convey everything he felt. Even <em>I have a huge crush on you</em> sounded stupid. Maybe he should just play it safe.</p><p>“It’s just… I’m going to miss you,” he said finally, his eyes dropping to his lap. “These two years have been so fun, and I owe a lot of that to you. The whole team was amazing, they supported me so much but I…I really think <em>you</em> changed my life.” He looked back to meet his friend’s gaze. “You mean a lot to me, Akaashi.”</p><p>Akaashi’s eyes were wide and his mouth was parted. Red bloomed on the tips of his ears. Bokuto found himself holding his breath for the second time that night.</p><p>Then, true to form, Akaashi recovered quickly. He propped up one elbow on the back of the couch, looking down at his other hand to study his cuticles. “That’s very kind of you, Bokuto-san,” he said evenly. “I will miss you, too.”</p><p>Silence. Bokuto waited. That couldn’t be it, could it? The extent of Akaashi’s feelings? Maybe it was. Maybe he didn’t feel the same intense electricity Bokuto did when they were together. Maybe he didn’t yearn to talk to Bokuto every minute of every day—tell him his hopes, fears, doubts. Maybe he wasn’t attracted to him after all…</p><p>“I should tell you something,” Akaashi said, and Bokuto sat up at attention. The younger boy was chewing his bottom lip nervously. “A… secret, actually. I haven’t told anyone before.”</p><p>Bokuto immediately emptied all other thoughts from his brain and leaned forward. “Oh?”</p><p>Akaashi’s gaze flickered to Bokuto and back quicker than he could blink. “It’s about… my moment.”</p><p>“Your moment?”</p><p>A nod. “Yes, Bokuto-san. Remember when you told Tsukishima-san about the moment you got hooked on volleyball? When you started having fun?”</p><p>“Oh, yeah.” Bokuto was not sure where Akaashi was going with this.</p><p>“I want to tell you about mine. About the moment that got me into volleyball.”</p><p>And so Bokuto listened as his friend told him about middle school. About how he hadn’t cared that much about volleyball. About how he hadn’t known at first which high school to attend. About how he’d walked into a gym to see Bokuto flying through the air, and from that first very glance he just <em>knew</em> Bokuto was special, and that he wanted to be part of his life.</p><p>Bokuto was gobsmacked. He couldn’t believe it. But he also <em>could</em>. Thinking back, Akaashi had from the very start been willing to stay late with him to practice. He’d supported him without fail—through his mistakes, his missteps, even his debilitating moods.</p><p>Part of him had always thought Akaashi did it because he felt obligated, or just wanted to find a way to win the matches. This made <em>a lot</em> more sense.</p><p>But Bokuto still didn’t know the nature of Akaashi’s confession. Was it just friendship? It seemed pretty romantic, that “love at first sight” thing, but he couldn’t be sure. </p><p>He decided to test the waters.</p><p>Slowly he reached out and took his friend’s hand. He felt the boy jolt slightly, obviously not expecting the physical contact. But he didn’t recoil.</p><p>“Akaashi,” he said, and he almost didn’t recognize the deep, gravely timbre of his own voice. He threaded their fingers together. “So, are you saying… do you feel…?”</p><p>Akaashi was looking down at their intertwined hands. His mouth was hanging open again. Bokuto swore he could hear the boy’s heart pounding. Or maybe that was <em>his </em>heart…</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>
  <em>Yes?</em>
</p><p>Bokuto tried to catch Akaashi’s gaze. The word had been so soft and feeble, like a ripple on a tide pool. And what had he meant by it?Taking a leap of faith, Bokuto scooted forward. One arm came around Akaashi on the back of the couch, fingers mere centimeters from the neck of the boy’s shirt. Their knees touched.</p><p>Akaashi still didn’t move away, so Bokuto reached out with his other hand to gently push up Akaashi’s chin, and finally they were face to face. Barely a few inches apart.</p><p>“‘Yes’ to what, Akaashi?”</p><p>The only word that Bokuto could use to describe the look on his friend’s face was <em>wonderment</em>—a noun that Akaashi had taught him, no less. The boy looked like he was at a loss for any words of his own, jaw unhinged and pupils dilating rapidly.</p><p>
  <em>Yeah, okay, he definitely likes me.</em>
</p><p>Bokuto surged forward, catching Akaashi’s lips in a firm kiss.</p><p>He had always heard people describe a first kiss as feeling like an explosion, like “fireworks in the belly,” or something equally as shocking and intense. But for Bokuto, it felt more like puzzle pieces finally clicking into place.</p><p>There had always been something missing, something more he wanted out of his and Akaashi’s friendship. He’d wondered for so long what it was. Now, angling his head slightly to deepen the kiss and feeling the other boy’s eager reciprocation, everything was clear.</p><p>Akaashi’s lips were soft and wet. They moved faster, little by little coaxing Bokuto’s mouth open, one kiss at a time. It was turning messy, but Bokuto didn’t care. His hands moved to cup either side of Akaashi’s burning face. In return, Akaashi’s hands gripped his forearms, almost daring Bokuto to never let go, to never stop kissing him.</p><p>But right before Bokuto was about to take things a step further, when his hands began trailing down toward Akaashi’s waist, his friend pushed him away.</p><p>“Dammit, Bokuto-san!” Akaashi cried.</p><p>Thoroughly confused and worried, Bokuto put his hands up innocently. “What…”</p><p>“I... I sit on these feelings for years and try to confess for months and you just… kiss me? Just like that?” Akaashi fell forward, face-planting right into Bokuto’s chest. “How is that fair?”</p><p>Bokuto gingerly brought his arms around the boy, hands landing gently on his back. “I’m… sorry?”</p><p>“You should be.”</p><p>Bokuto chuckled. After a few moments, Akaashi spoke again, mumbling into Bokuto’s shirt. “On our first movie night, when you came out as bi to me… I promised myself I’d tell you how I felt someday,” he said. “I wanted to at graduation, but I chickened out.”</p><p>Bokuto tried to process all of the insane information. He had known Akaashi at least thought he was good-looking, <em>hot</em> even, but the extent of his feelings had always been shrouded behind a mask of restraint. To think, he had liked Bokuto for <em>over two years</em>…</p><p>Then Bokuto realized: “Wait. You tried to confess to me at my <em>graduation</em>?”</p><p>Akaashi nodded.</p><p>“Akaashi!” He cried, delighted and ready to tease. “Did you plan on confessing under the cherry blossoms?”</p><p>Akaashi groaned. “Oh my god.”</p><p>Bokuto gasped. “Were you going to give me your second button!?”</p><p>“We don’t even wear gakuran at Fukurodani!”</p><p>"Akaashi, you're so cute."</p><p>"Shut up."</p><p>Bokuto just laughed. He pushed Akaashi up by the shoulders, finally locking gazes once again. The boy’s eyes—those beautiful, blue-green eyes—were shining. If Bokuto didn’t know Akaashi so well, he’d be worried about the tears, but he knew it just meant that Akaashi was overwhelmed with emotion. And from the wobbly smile spreading over his friend’s face, it was definitely a <em>good</em> emotion.</p><p>“You really… feel the same way?” Akaashi’s voice was soft again. “You like me?”</p><p>Bokuto took a deep breath. <em>This boy. </em>He expected it might take a while before Akaashi truly understood how completely head-over-heels and devoted Bokuto already was. It was okay though. They could work on it.</p><p>“Yeah,” he sighed, smiling. “I really, really do.”</p><p>Later that night, after two movies, heaps of unhealthy snacks and multiple make out sessions, Bokuto found himself in Akaashi’s childhood bedroom. It wasn’t the coziest place, with it’s high ceilings, expensive furnishings and bare walls. But Bokuto had never felt so content—snuggled up under a duvet with Akaashi, pressed together, limbs intertwined.</p><p>He looked down at his boyfriend, who was snoring softly, curled into the crook of Bokuto's arm. Leaning forward, he planted a light kiss onto the boy’s curls. “I love you,” he whispered, and wondered when he’d be brave enough to say it when the boy was awake.</p><p>Bokuto knew that their future together wouldn’t be easy. They would be separated a lot at first. As a pro athlete, he’d probably be traveling a lot. He had no idea where Akaashi would end up for college.</p><p>They would eventually have to tell everyone—Akaashi’s disapproving parents, extended family, friends, coworkers—about the new nature of their relationship.</p><p>It definitely wouldn’t be easy.</p><p>For now though, Bokuto let himself enjoy the moment. It felt like everything he and Akaashi had gone through the past two years had been leading up to it. Things between them had always been changing. Their relationship was an ever-evolving, unpredictable adventure.</p><p>Slowly but surely, they had found their way to each other.</p><p>Bokuto wouldn't have had it any other way.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I want to thank you all again for being so supportive of this rewrite. I am so much happier with this little confession story, in my own style, being the conclusion to this series. It’s what it deserves.</p><p>If you’re missing some of the flashback scenes from the first version of this fic, fear not! I am planning on making a separate fic with those memories eventually. :)</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://twitter.com/mari_writes1/status/1328525098479849472">Twitter</a><br/><a href="https://mari-writes.tumblr.com/post/634997091596369920/the-moment-rewrite">Tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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